Chapter 39 She's still here.
I can feel her.
Davy pressed Rachel's hand as they sat together on a piece of moss-covered stonework.
The holy water trickled from the spring,
Flowing strongly through the channel he and Rose had cleared beneath the altar,
And making its way to the river.
Rachel nodded.
I feel it too.
I only wish I'd spent more time with her.
If only— Davy put a finger to her lips.
Are two of the saddest words in the whole world,
He replied as he had once before.
What matters is now.
And I know in here—he touched his heart—she is at peace.
Anyway,
He smiled,
I have something for you.
It belonged to your mother,
And she left it with me for safekeeping,
But it was always for you.
He passed Rachel a bundle wrapped in blue cloth.
And if I'm not mistaken,
He continued,
The answers to everything you need to know are in here.
He handed her a large envelope,
Tied with pink ribbon and sealed with wax.
I don't know,
He interrupted as a question framed her lips,
All I do know is Charles wrote a lot down for your mother,
Things she wanted passed on to you,
Information for you and nobody else,
And it was the only way she could think of doing it.
He asked me to give it to you.
Rachel's eyes filled with tears.
Why didn't she just tell me?
You know it was difficult with your father.
There was no point complicating things even more.
And something tells me she knew there wasn't much time left,
He continued.
Very perceptive was your mother.
There was a moment of silence as they both remembered.
And one more thing,
Finished Davy,
Charles said there's something in there from him.
All I know is he said to be sure to tell you to keep it safe until her spirit returns once again.
Davy spread his hands and shrugged,
Don't ask me,
He finished,
But I think there might be more to our Charles than meets the eye too.
Rachel turned the packages over in her hands but made no move to open either of them.
Until she began glancing at Davy.
Her spirit returns once again.
He looked at her steadily.
And we both know it will,
Don't we?
Rachel nodded and Davy thought how like Rose she looked,
But also,
He thought with a touch of pride,
He could see a little of himself in her too.
For a moment Davy felt his heart might burst,
Images of Rose flew through his mind,
As a young girl and the woman he loved so well.
Then all at once he felt her presence,
Like the soft touch of a rose petal upon his brow,
And knew,
Without a doubt,
They would meet again.
Where did that come from?
Asked Rachel sometime later as they were preparing to leave.
They had remained in silence for a long while,
Remembering Rose,
As a strong sense of peace descended over the valley,
A feeling of timelessness,
As if,
Thought Davy,
It was possible to reach out and touch the spirits of long ago.
Davy turned to where Rachel was pointing.
Upon the granite altar lay a simple circlet of wild roses,
Entwined with leaves of rowan.
